Saturday, September 28, 2013

Last week, I wrote about Bare Essence and did so because I was told, in an e-mail, I never write about TV. I noted that wasn't true and that I'd written about this or that episode but I had a difficult time following one show.

Stan pointed out to me last night, I also covered one show.

Thank you, Stan. He remembered what I forgot.

I covered Smash -- in season one and in season two.

I knew I'd written about TV here.

On the topic of Smash, Megan Hilty was one of the stars of the show. I was impressed with her in season two. So let me note that she's got a new TV show, she's part of the new NBC sitcom Sean Saves The Family, which debuts next Thursday night.

Let's turn to the topic of Syria. Barack still wants war. This week, C.I. noted in a snapshot problems with the video of the chemical weapons attack. RT has interviewed the woman who pointed those problems out. CounterCurrents has text of the interview posted:

A new
version of a study produced by Mother Agnes, a catholic nun, pointing to
a number of fabricated videos used as evidence of complicity by the
Assad government in a recent chemical attack is in the works, she told
RT.

The report by the Christian nun, Mother
Agnes Mariam el-Salib, mother superior of St. James Monastery in Qara ,
Syria , has alleged that many videos featuring supposed victims of the
chemical weapons attack in the Syrian village of Guta in August were in
fact staged and scripted.

The question for the nun now revolves around the “humanitarian” question
of what happened to the children featured in the video. “Those children
are the children of whom? From where did you get them? Why are you
using them and manipulating them?”

The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab
Republic was created in August 2011 by the Human Rights Council to
investigate alleged violations of human rights.

Following is an interview of Mother Agnes Mariam el-Salib:

RT: What exactly led you to the conclusion that the videos of the chemical attack were fabricated?

Mother Agnes Mariam el-Salib: I have been contacted by
families from the province of Lattakia . They alleged that they
discovered victims, the children that are presented as victims of the
chemical attacks in Eastern Ghouta , would be their own children. They
had asked me to interfere, so I had to study a little bit of those
videos to see where those children are carried, because in some videos
they are alive and in some videos they seem not to be alive.

I came to identify in many videos real staging, real screen playing and
today after having redacted a study concerning my first impression, I
called it a better version.

Today I'm just finishing the chronology of those videos and of the
action they are unveiling to the public opinion. I'm more and more
convinced that it is not the coverage of an ongoing reality, the ongoing
emergency of chemical strikes, but a kind of screen playing with a
script that has been worked on many days before.

What really amazes me is how when Colin Powell gave his speech of lies to the UN, it was time to expose him -- at least for 'independent' media. Yet, this story here? It's not covered by Democracy Now! or The Nation or The Progressive or In These Times.

The Obama administration lies systematically, he claims, yet none of
the leviathans of American media, the TV networks or big print titles,
challenge him."It's pathetic, they are more than
obsequious, they are afraid to pick on this guy [Obama]," he declares in
an interview with the Guardian."It used to be when you
were in a situation when something very dramatic happened, the president
and the minions around the president had control of the narrative, you
would pretty much know they would do the best they could to tell the
story straight. Now that doesn't happen any more. Now they take
advantage of something like that and they work out how to re-elect the
president.[. . .]Hersh returns to US president Barack Obama.
He has said before that the confidence of the US press to challenge the
US government collapsed post 9/11, but he is adamant that Obama is
worse than Bush."Do you think Obama's been judged by any
rational standards? Has Guantanamo closed? Is a war over? Is anyone
paying any attention to Iraq? Is he seriously talking about going into
Syria? We are not doing so well in the 80 wars we are in right now, what
the hell does he want to go into another one for. What's going on [with
journalists]?" he asks.

Amen.

Of course, I'll note the obvious, this community has held Barack accountable since day one. In fact, before that.

Immediately after the election, Barack's campaign site dropped all comments by him and Joe objecting to the Status of Forces Agreement. They both campaigned insisting that without Senate approval, it was wrong. They dropped that immediately after the election. C.I. called it out immediately.

It's a shame the press couldn't. It's a shame they continue to make excuses for him.

Friday, September 27, 2013. Chaos and violence continue, protests
continue, Moqtada calls for his followers to take to the street (and
they do), Tim Arango reports Nouri's support of Shi'ite militias (that
would be death squads), Iraq may make history in one province next year,
Barack still wants war on Syria, we look at how WBAI threatens Pacifica
Radio's survival, and more.

We start with independent media and how it is at risk of going under in the United States. This morning, Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) announced, "The independent, daily half-hour news program Free Speech Radio News is
airing its last edition today due to funding shortfalls. According to
its website, FSRN is looking into the possibility of restructuring its organization in the future." That's dishonest.

FSRN explained in a public statement
on their website, "FSRN is currently carrying just over $200,000 in
accounts receivable. For much of the year, our major funder Pacifica has
not been able to pay us and its past-due balance to FSRN is about
$198,000. "

Amy Goodman doesn't have to worry about these things because she found a
way to leverage an attempted takeover of Pacifica Radio into riches.
This led to the 2002 deal in which Amy got ownership of the program
(which had been owned by Pacifica) and hundreds and thousands in
funding.

So maybe it's guilt that made Amy lied this morning. I don't know, I don't give a damn.

She's just one of many WBAI thieves in the '00s who've destroyed Pacifica.

WBAI in the '00s aired one substandard, embarrassing program after
another. This really isn't a story about a Saturday schedule without
news, with tired old records or the programs of a dead man that were
rarely topical when he was alive (Al Lewis), or wasting the airwaves
with a program about "your PC" at a time when laptops and tablets were
the new norm.

Pacifica Radio started with KPFA. In 1949, KPFA
began broadcasting in the Bay Area. Pacifica was KPFA, KPFA was
Pacifica. It was the first listener-supported radio. Long before NPR,
there was Pacifica. It had a commitment to diversity and to peace.
When Amy Goodman pimps Samantha Power and the UN resolution on Syria
this morning, she's betraying the roots of Pacifica, so it's actually
good in many ways that Democracy Now! is not a Pacifica program anymore.

A decade later, 1959, Los Angeles' KPFK started. No problem there, like KPFA, KPFK pulled its own weight. Then came WBAI
in 1960 and the troubles emerge. No group worked to put together WBAI
and that's why it's been trash on the airwaves for decades. They
arrived with a feeling of entitlement. In the Bay Area and in Los
Angeles, work had to be done to create KPFA and KPFK. In Washington DC,
work had to be done to create WPFW (1977) and in Houston, Texas, work had to be done to create KPFT (1970). Those four stations contributed and never had a sense of entitlement.

But unlike the other four, WBAI was a donation. It's officially donated
to Pacifica in January 1960 (it had been a commercial radio station)
and broadcasting in the first week of the month.

It has always pulled stunts that have risked the work of the entire
network. They knew, for example, that broadcasting the George Carlin
'naughty words' routine was risky but they did it. Fortunately, the
Supreme Court sided with Pacifica but it could have gone the other way
and risked the entire network.

You do not get that cavalier F**K YOU WE DO WHAT WE WANT from the other
four stations. They have a history of work, not of entitlement. That
is not to claim that life is perfect and wonderful at the other four.
It is to note that if they take a stand, it's on a real issue -- a news
issue, a broadcast issue -- whereas WBAI does stunts.

And that's created the culture at WBAI that has been so destructive.
Greed and incompetence has been the hallmark of those who chose to stay
with the station (as opposed to the many who elected to move on). I'm
not going to embarrass a '00 on air here. But she was a woman of color,
she was a very talented broadcaster and she was ousted from her job by
the little junta which controlled WBAI in the '00s. This same group -- a
mixture African-Americans and Anglo Jews -- are the first to scream
racism, but their own actions targeting people of color were racist.

Charges of “racism” were lobbed constantly. A succession of managerial
mediocrities drove the station into the ground. Excruciating stupidity
was embraced in the name of populist programming. For several years in
the mid-2000s, the station was run by a cabal of black nationalists of
an antique and alienating sort. They were forced out by Pacifica
central, only to be replaced by an even less distinguished (though not
black nationalist) set of sub-mediocrities.

That probably includes the people who caused Henwood to leave. In 2010,
major changes were implemented and leadership forced on to WBAI.
Bernard White felt the need to whine publicly. Strangely enough, White
felt it was okay to use WBAI's airwaves in 2008 to promote and endorse
Barack Obama for president. In his role as program manager of WBAI,
that endorsement was both questionable and potentially harmful. As the
daytime voice, he did bumpers between the morning programs, stupid
musings without merit that would be embarrassing in any city but
especially in New York City where so much media was present to catch the
stupidity.

It was in one such 'bumper,' that he mused on the violence that would
arrive should Barack not become president. Pacifica has a certain tax
status and has that because it's non-partisan. To have the daily
announcer -- who is also the program manager and was the voice of WBAI
at that time -- make such a stupid statement was appalling to the
Pacifica board. It was unprofessional and it could have resulted in the
network losing its tax status.

WBAI was not pulling its own financial weight and had not been for some
time. White's stunt set in motion his 2009 dismissal (which he claimed
publicly was a COINTEL plot and "non-progressive, what I consider to be
racist people"). What followed was the usual stupidity of 'poor Bernard
was fired because he was Black!' It's interesting how color 'matters'
when White's cabal screams racism. It didn't matter when White fired
Robert Knight (who is African-American -- Knight would go on to do Flashpoints on KPFA with Dennis Bernstein and Nora Barrows-Friedman
before returning on air at WBAI after White left), it didn't matter
when they got rid of the woman of color I wrote of earlier. But when
White loses his job, it's 'racism.'

No, it was about not paying the bills. It was about draining Pacifica's
cash with your station no one listened to. In 2010, serious measures
were taken. It was necessary to get money and listeners immediately.
Pacifica was in danger of going under -- that was chiefly due to monies
WBAI owed. All stations suffered and had to make concessions. KPFA,
for example, had to do away with The Morning Show. (A blessing
in disguise. It allowed for diversity in programming and thought to
replace an increasingly soft pseudo news show.) For WBAI, it meant
experimenting with new programs -- a long overdue need. That meant
moving some programs currently airing and how the hosts did howl.

Mya Shone and Ralph Schoenman provided a real service with Taking Aim.
(Doug Henwood would disagree, he despises shows that question the 9-11
narrative.) They did a first-rate program. But when they learned their
Tuesday show was moving from 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm, they had a hissy
fit. They dubbed ten p.m. "the bedtime hour." Excuse me? 10 pm is
bedtime in NYC? WBAI was attempting, through the efforts of interim
director Tony Bates, to bring in listeners. They had to shake up the
schedule. They were not burying Taking Aim at midnight or later, they
were airing it during the last hour of prime time. (Don't ask Mya or
Ralph what happens on ABC's Scandal
-- which returns this coming Thursday at 10:00 pm EST, 9 central --
because they're already in bed and can't watch.) The anger of Mya and
Ralph was misplaced but quickly adopted by the Bernard White crowd with
calls of 'take back WBAI!' Under Bates, the station was actually
listenable. (Law and Disorder is the only WBAI show the station had
that was consistently listenable in the '00s.)

They never succeeded and they won't. Goodman's gotten what she wants (she got it immediately -- two airings daily of Democracy Now!
on WBAI). They have no real leaders (in the past, people stood behind
White, real leaders, pulling the strings). And they're in a position of
weakness. August 13th, I filled in for Stan at his site and wrote "WBAI troubles."

Oh, how the deluded don't like reality. I got a real taste of the
hatred the Bernard White crowd has heaped on Robert Knight (he had dared
to call out Barack's Drone War, war on Libya and more). To suggest
that WBAI should be sold!!!! Gasp!!!! How dare I?

Here's some of what I wrote:

It has been a worthless radio station. I don't slam the shows about
"conspiracy theories" the way Henwood does. I think they gave WBAI some
diversity in thought.
But the garbage, I call that crap out and have for some time. We wrote about a lot of this in real time.For example, Saturdays and Sundays on WBAI was crap with one dee jay oldies music show after another.
After Grandpa Munster passed away his Saturday time slot should have
gone to needed news programming. Instead Al Lewis was kept on the air
(via old programs) for a year after he died.
Now this garbage on the weekend?
WBAI gets credit for airing Winter Soldier put on by Iraq Veterans Against the War.
But it didn't air them.
It aired Friday's proceedings. They skipped Saturday and Sundays
proceedings to air their crappy programs where they spin old records.
Actual news was taking place -- and KPFA was airing it -- but WBAI
wasn't.
Doug Henwood apparently is uncomfortable calling that out. I have no problem. I called them out on the Saturday it happened.
News.
WBAI's news has been a damn joke forever.
They are in the media capitol of the world and yet their news played
like the worst local news in the worst and smallest market in the
country.
The news only aired Monday through Friday and for a half hour.
So if any news broke on the weekend, WBAI couldn't cover it.
While KPFA has hourly news breaks during the day -- at the top of the
hour (except during Democracy Now!) -- WBAI considers 'news' to be
telling people the time and temperature.
They are an embarrassment. So is the DC station.
And if you can't carry your weight and you're risking destroying the 'network' (five stations) you need to go.

Law and Disorder Radio
will go on if WBAI doesn't. The rest of programming offers nothing.
It's weak minded hosted by the weak minded and so far from Lewis Hill's
intent with Pacifica that they should all be ashamed. It's not just the
falling asleep on air twice in 2012 by Tom Wisker (who was then hosting
Weaponry on WBAI). They are an embarrassment. More
importantly, they are not carrying their weight. They owe Pacifica
money and they risk the entire network going under as a result.

Free Speech Radio News was actual news. It wasn't garbage. It
wasn't, "Let me interview my friend about their new book while we
pretend on air like we're not best friends." This was actual reporting
-- a foreign concept to WBAI, granted. The loss of this half-hour show
is tremendous. Free Speech Radio News covered everything that was news and did so professionally.

A few weeks ago (a few days before I wrote the post at Stan's blog), a friend called about what was going to happen to FSRN.
Couldn't we, he suggested, all kick in and take care of that? We
could. And normally I'd be the first to write that check. But I'm sick
of paying WBAI's bills. And rescuing FSRN would just give Pacifica another excuse not to address the WBAI problem.

WBAI is not pulling its weight. It needs to publicly be informed it has
X number of days to turn that debt around or its station will be sold.
Pacifica cannot risk going under to save that awful station. Today,
the world lost Free Speech Radio News. If the problem's not
addressed, it will be something else in a few months. If the problem's
not addressed, it will eventually be announced that Pacifica is going
under. One station should not be allowed to destroy the whole network.
KPFA, KPFK, KPFT pull their own weight. WBAI needs to make money
quickly or be cut lose and the same is true of WPFW.

Pacifica is supposed to be a network which supports peace. Its purpose
is too important. Losing FSRN is a huge blow, losing Pacifica would be
even more so.

If you want to help Pacifica, you might also start demanding Amy Goodman
write off the two million she's expecting Pacifica to pay her. As
Pacifica Treasurer Tracy Rosenberg noted at Matthew Lasar's Radio Survivor:

It’s not correct that Democracy Now hasn’t been paid a penny by
Pacifica. It’s been paid millions of dollars, just not the last million.
Since 2002, when the initial contract is signed, through the current
day, the total amount Pacifica contracted to pay Democracy Now is over
$5 million dollars. The problem is signing contracts that go up every
year regardless of whether the pledges received during the airing of the
program go up or down, and they have gone down substantially in the
last decade. Pacifica, unfortunately, has gotten a lot of bad legal
advice over the years and tends to make decisions emotionally. Emotional
ties to DN were not a good enough reason to sign a contract which was
not advantageous to both parties involved. And in the end, it hasn’t
proven that advantageous to DN either. Pacifica’s then-ED Greg Guma
objected to the terms during the renegotiation in 2007 because he could
see the numbers weren’t trending in support of the terms, but no one
listened to him at the time.

Goodman's very good at enriching herself. It's really time for her 'to
give back.' It's also time for Pacifica to either enter a new contract
with her or else drop her from the airwaves. It wouldn't be a loss. As
Cindy Sheehan has pointed out, since Barack Obama has become president, she's been on Democracy Now! only once for a few seconds. Amy puts on CIA contractor Juan Cole but ignores Cindy? That's not Lew Hill's mission statement.

Hamdon
also appealed the international community, Arab countries and
international media to come out for silent about what he described as
"ethnic cleansing suffered by Iraq's Sunni component at the hands of
militias.

Addressing the people of Diyala and Baghdad provinces
in addition to Kirkuk , Salahuddin and Anbar , saying: "What is
happening to you of killing and displacement caused of your demands of
legitimated rights."

Protests have been taking place non-stop since December 21st. Someone tell the world media. Al Mada notes
that protesters in Falluja spoke of how they did not trust the
government anymore -- not to protect them, not to represent them. The
newspaper reports Nouri al-Maliki, prime minister and chief thug of
Iraq, was called out in Diyala Province for marginalizing and excluding
Sunnis. He was denounced in Samarra and Ramadi where his insults of
protesters was tossed back at him with protesters noting he was one the
one practicing sectarianism. Kitabat notes Nouri was also denounced by protesters across Iraq for allegedly taking marching orders from Iran.

Those ongoing protests were not the only protests in Iraq today. Ayad al-Tamimi (Al Mada) notes
that the Sadr movement states they have at least 700 members in prison
with at least 100 sentenced to death and they are in prison for
resisting the US occupation of Iraq. Some of them have been held since
2004. Thursday, Moqtada al-Sadr called on his followers to protest
these detentions. Kitabat notes
Moqtada's followers in Baghdad and across Iraq took to the streets to
protest and demand the release of the imprisoned and that a mosque in
Kufa had an especially strong turn out of participants. What happened
to the amnesty law which was supposed to address this. An unnamed Sadr MP tells Al Mada that Nouri al-Maliki's State of Law bloc is blocking it.

Many Iraqi activists have been coordinating events to
provide further impetus for a new campaign, spearheaded by the youth
movement, that is calling for the cancellation of pensions for lawmakers
and members of parliament. Organizers have called for demonstrations
throughout Iraq on Oct. 5, 2013. Riad al-Husseini, one such activist,
has begun posting new banners and ads calling for support for these
protests.

It seemed as if many Iraqis like Husseini have become so addicted to
demonstrations and protests as the only available democratic means to
achieve their goals that if their attempts were unsuccessful, they would
consider democracy a failed project altogether.
Husseini described the demonstrations on
Aug. 31 during which protesters called for the cancellation of
politicians’ and MPs’ pensions. However, their demands were not met,
just as in all previous protests, and security forces cracked down on
demonstrators and blocked the roads.
Speaking to Al-Monitor, he said, “I was overcome with despair.
I felt that those protesters were heading toward a dead end and
wouldn’t achieve their goals. The government’s procrastination harms
protests more than blocked roads or security officers, who have closed
off all entrances in every demonstration.”
However, Husseini discarded his despair and decided to take to the streets once again.

Meanwhile mass arrests continue. However, two arrests will probably garner more attention. NINA notes,
"Aljazeerah and Badiyah operations forces arrested late lastnight the
Dean of Imam Aadham Faculty [Dr. Imad Kareem Hamad] of Aanah district
western Anbar province." Two nurses were also arrested. NINA also notes, "Eyewitnesses told NINA that a military force arrested Sheikh Abdul
Sattar Abdul Jabar [of Abu Hanifa NMosque] and one of his assistants after Friday Prayer,
without knowing the reason." Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi is asking why the Sheikh was arrested.

The mass arrests help breed the continuing and ongoing violence. AFP reports, "Two bombs exploded near Sunni mosques in the Iraqi capital as worshippers left after Friday prayers, killing at least six people, as four more died in other attacks, officials said." Xinhua explains,
"The first roadside bomb exploded near Al Tawheed mosque in the Dora
district in southern Baghdad after Friday prayers, killing five
worshippers and wounding 16 others, a police source told Xinhua on
condition of anonymity. Another roadside bomb went off near Shanshal
mosque in the Jihad district in southwestern Baghdad, wounding five
worshippers, the source said." Iraq Times notes the final death toll from the two Baghdad bombings was 7 with twenty-eight injured. In addition, NINA notes a Mosul bombing targeting a police patrol claimed the lives of 3 police officers and left three people injured. Alsumaria reports a suicide bomber targeting Mosul military headquarters claimed 2 lives (3 counting the bomber) and left eleven injured. The Iraq Times adds that 1 corpse was discovered on Palestine Street in Baghdad late Thursday night showing signs of torture. Sameer N. Yacoub (AP) notes, "Gunmen also shot and killed police Col. Ghazi Ahmed after storming his
house in the former insurgent stronghold of Hawija, 240 kilometers (150
miles) north of Baghdad, police said."

As the government tries to put down the Sunni insurgency, it now faces
rising unrest among members of the country’s Shiite majority, who are
becoming more determined to take up the fight themselves. This is
perhaps expressed most vividly in the sentiments stirring Sadr City,
home to many former fighters in Mr. Sadr’s militia, the Mahdi Army, who
had largely put down their weapons in recent years and put their faith
in the political process.

But now that their community faces a deadly streak of terrorist
violence, and believes the government incapable of protecting them, that
is changing, demonstrated by the protests and unrest this week in Sadr
City.

“The whole city is angry,” said Razak Jassim, 43, a friend to Mr. Jabar who joined him in mourning on Wednesday.

Arango goes on to note that Nouri al-Maliki is backing Asaib al-Haq, a Shi'ite militia rival to the Mahdi Army:

In supporting Asaib al-Haq, Mr. Maliki has apparently made the risky
calculation that by backing some Shiite militias, even in secret, he can
maintain control over the country’s restive Shiite population and,
ultimately, retain power after the next national elections, which are
scheduled for next year. Militiamen and residents of Shiite areas say
members of Asaib al-Haq are given government badges and weapons and
allowed freedom of movement by the security forces.

And he's also probably hoping to neutralize cleric and movement leader
Moqtada al-Sadr who has huge popularity in Iraq and who is Nouri's
strongest rival in the next bid for prime minister. Arango's report is
the first thing in weeks to justify the claims his paper makes in the
new round of TV advertisements -- we've all seen them right? If Arango
were given a little more space, he probably could have addressed Nouri's
attacks on the Sunnis. Not the 'Sunni insurgency' (a media catch all
for rebels, militants, al Qaeda and more) but to the Sunni population in
general. And those attacks? That's why he's backing Asaib al-Haq --
who do you think that militia is attacking? The protesters have
repeatedly maintained the Sunni community is being targeted by Shi'ite
militias backed by Nouri al-Maliki. Al Mada reports this was again raised in Friday's protests with speakers in Falluja demanding Nouri curb his militias.

And this behavior? It really demands that aid from the US be cut off.

Iraq Body Count's
death toll for September through yesterday? 1035 violent deaths.
Though media reports might want to pretend otherwise, there are a lot of
Sunnis in that number. The two mosques bombed in Baghdad today were
Sunni mosques. Equally troubling, the corpse on Palestine Street.
That's a sign of how bad the violence is getting, corpses are being
discovered yet again, in the last weeks, dumped on the streets of
Baghdad.

Iraq threatens to explode into all out civil war, with suicide
bombings still all too frequent. Earlier this month, for example, 30
worshippers were killed
at a mosque near Baquba, while late last month, several dozen people
were killed in a string of bombings in and near Baghdad. Afghanistan,
meanwhile, is still riven by insurgent attacks as well as tribal,
religious and sectarian disputes.

Not only is Iraq on the verge of all out civil war, but the
U.S.-backed Shiite government in Baghdad is increasingly authoritarian
and is contributing to the country’s ongoing demise. The Sunni-Shia
violence in Iraq is, as the International Crisis Group (ICG) puts it,
“as acute and explosive as ever” primarily because “Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki has implemented a divide-and-conquer strategy that has
neutered any credible Sunni Arab leadership.”
Maliki has had his security forces detain and brutally torture thousands of political opponents in secret prisons and denied them access to legal counsel. Amnesty International reported
this week that Iraq executed 13 men following unfair trials plagued by
allegations of torture. “Iraq is one of the world’s most prolific
executioners,” the report states.
In this environment, Iraq is supposed to hold parliamentary elections
early next year. But they can't pass an election law, as we noted in Thursday's snapshot:

Cleric and movement leader Moqtada al-Sadr's the one leading the push
for Parliament to pass the election law on the Shi'ite side (in Iraq,
the law is passed before each election or the elections are not held).
And the one saying no? Members of Nouri's political slate (State of
Law) and Nouri's political party (Dawa). Guess what group Khudheir
Al-Khuzaie? Right. All Iraq News reports that the vote on the election law did not take place today and was postponed until Monday. Alsumaria quotes an unnamed source stating that there are disagreements about the electoral system and the quota system.

All Iraq News notes
independent MP Safiya al-Siheil is concerned and she stated today that
she fears the elections may be delayed. If elections are held,
Diwaniyah may make history next year. Al Mada reports
feminists in the province are planning to form a collective to run for
office with the goal of advancing women in all fields. Dad Hasnawi
tells Al Mada that the slate would be the first of its kind in the
province, in Iraq and in the Arab world and that it would embrace
women's issues.

Saturday
the KRG held provincial elections. Exit polling places the
Kurdistan Democratic Party (led by KRG President Massoud Barzani) in the
lead. The surprise from the polling is that the other dominant
political party, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, is no longer
dominant. Second place, according to the exit polling, has gone to
Gorran (Change). The Independent High Electoral Commission has still
been unable to release the vote totals. Only three provinces voted. It
shouldn't be that difficult. Here are some of the latest Tweets on the
election: Kitabat notes
allegations that the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) is attempting
to rig the results of the elections and that UNHCR has sent a delegation
into Sulaymaniyah to investigate. Mushreq Abbas (Al-Monitor) reports:

The preliminary figures cited
by the parties, observers and independent organizations were based on
polling station counts. The results showed the KDP in first place with
37.4% of the vote, which would give the party about a third of the total
seats. Parliament is comprised of 111 seats, in addition to the 11
seats reserved for non-Kurdish minorities, which have traditionally been
close to Barzani.
The KDP’s main ally, Talabani’s PUK, slipped to third place with 16.6%
of the vote. The Movement for Change came in second place with 24.7%,
followed by the Kurdistan Islamic Union with 9.8 %, the Islamic Group
with 6.1%, al-Haraka al-Islamiyya with 1.2% and 4.2% for the other
parties.
These figures are subject to change. A source from the Electoral Commission in Erbil told Al-Monitor
that approximately 40% of the 150,000 votes of the security forces and
of the Iraqi Kurdistan guard — the Peshmerga — will go to Barzani’s
party.
The official results are expected to be announced on Sept. 30, but the
overall standings are not expected to be affected, prompting some within
the PUK — including the deputy head of the party, Barham Salih — to
recognize the party’s decline. He said, “The loss is harsh, but denying the people’s will would be shameful,” in reference to accusations by the Movement for Change that the PUK and the KDP are trying to rig the results.

Today, US Secretary of State John Kerry declared at the United Nations, "So tonight, we are declaring together, for the first time, that the use
of chemical weapons, which the world long ago determined beyond the
bounds of acceptable human behavior, are also a threat to international
peace and security anywhere they might be used, anytime they might be
used, under any circumstances. As a community of nations, we reaffirm
our responsibility to defend the defenseless, those whose lives remain
at risk every day that anyone believes they can use weapons of mass
destruction with impunity. Together, the world, with a single voice for
the first time, is imposing binding obligations on the Assad regime
requiring it to get rid of weapons that have been used to devastating
effect as tools of terror. This important resolution reflects what
President Obama and President Putin and colleagues around the world set
out to do."

Of course, he didn't mean it. He's perfectly fine with the chemical
weapons the US used in Iraq and sleeps without any sorrow over the
hundreds of Iraqi children born with cancers and birth defects as a
result of the chemical weapons. Before the resolution passed, World
Can't Wait's Debra Sweet noted at War Is A Crime:

Wrapped in some benign sounding words about prosperity, peace,
and “shifting from a perpetual war footing,” the core of Barack Obama’s
message to the United Nations yesterday made clear that if the U.N.
doesn’t pass a resolution the U.S. wants against Syria, he still could
execute a strike.
Here’s the take-home:
“The United States of America is prepared to use all elements of our
power, including military force, to secure our core interests in the
region. We will confront external aggression against our allies and
partners, as we did in the Gulf War.
“We will ensure the free flow of energy from the region to the
world. Although America is steadily reducing our own dependence on
imported oil, the world still depends on the region’s energy supply and a
severe disruption could destabilize the entire global economy.”

Turning to the situation in neighbouring Syria, Mr. Al-khuzaie called
the conflict a “serious threat to our security, stability and the
integrity of our land and people.” He urged a peaceful solution to the
conflict warning that otherwise, “the region will forge ahead towards
the unknown.”

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

"Obama Reeks of Sulfur at the UN" (Glen Ford, Black Agenda Report):President Obama went to the United Nations this week and declared war
against the UN’s most fundamental founding principles, all the while
claiming the U.S. is the world’s one indispensable, unique and
exceptional nation.

The speech was a reminder of the reason rich people in America
financed and sponsored Obama’s rise to the presidency in the first
place, as the new, non-white face of U.S. imperial power. Obama’s
foreign policy mission was to subvert United Nations prohibitions
against the use of force except in self-defense, and to substitute a
so-called “humanitarian” rationale justifying aggression by Washington
and its allies. This constitutes a fundamental break with the UN
Charter, signifying that the U.S. realizes it can no longer dominate the
world by economic and other “soft power” and must, therefore, sweep
away the accumulated structures of international law that inhibit
America’s ability to smash its adversaries with raw military force.Obama’s speech was one long threat against world order and the rule
of law. He baldly stated that the U.S. is prepared to “use all elements
of [its] power, including military force, to secure [its] core interests
in the region” – a statement that is, on its face, a violation of the
UN’s prohibition against the threat of the use of force against other
nations. International law forbids the powerful from rattling their
sabers over perceived challenges to their "interests" in other people’s
countries. Obama, like the honey badger, doesn’t give a damn about
international law.

The speech made clear that the “turn to diplomacy” in relation to
both Syria and Iran represents not some fundamental turn away from the
predatory policy pursued by US imperialism in the region through the
wars of the last decade, but rather a tactical shift imposed upon the
Obama administration by the emergence of overwhelming and unanticipated
popular hostility to yet another war of aggression in the Middle East.This
political reversal accounts for the decidedly defensive, at times
self-pitying tone of Obama’s address, which was replete with complaints
about Washington being maligned and misunderstood.Before
concentrating on the targets for imminent US aggression—Syria and
Iran—Obama claimed credit for creating a “more stable” world during his
five years in the White House. He pointed to the withdrawal of all US
troops from Iraq—forced upon Washington by Iraq’s refusal to sign an
agreement granting US forces immunity for war crimes—and the impending
end of the war in Afghanistan, where the Pentagon is planning to leave
up to 20,000 troops and maintain permanent bases.

Amazingly, some idiots are praising the speech. At the so-called Progressive, for example, Amitabh Pal has a piece about the speech being a "mixed bag" and why "portions of it make your teeth grind." You know what, if you can overlook those portions and find the speech a "mixed bag" you are pretty f**ked up beyond repair.

Wednesday, September 25, 2013. Chaos and violence continue, Sadr City
citizens protest, another young Iraqi activist is assassinated, 90
young people are rounded up in Rawa by Nouri's forces, Gorran can't stop
whining (despite coming in second in the KRG elections), peace activist
Cindy Sheehan calls out California Governor Jerry Brown, Barack refuses
to grant Lynne Stewart a compassionate release, and more.

We'll start with US political prisoner
Lynne Stewart. For the 'crime' of issuing a press release, she was
eventually tossed in prison. The 'crime' happened on Attorney General
Janet Reno's watch. Reno has her detractors who think she was far too
tough as Attorney General. She also has her supporters who see her as a
moderate. No one saw her as 'soft.' Reno had her Justice Department
review what happened. There was no talk of a trial because there was no
crime. No law was broken. The Justice Department imposes guidelines
-- not written by Congress, so not laws -- on attorneys. Lynne was made
to review the guidelines and told not to break it again. That was her
'punishment' under Janet Reno. Bully Boy Bush comes into office and the
already decided incident becomes a way for Attorney General John
Ashcroft to try to build a name for himself. He goes on David
Letterman's show to announce, after 9-11, that they're prosecuting Lynne
for terrorism.

Eventually tossed in prison? Even Bully Boy Bush allowed Lynne to
remain out on appeal. It's only when Barack Obama becomes president
that Lynne gets tossed in prison. It's only under Barack that the US
Justice Depart disputes the judge's sentence and demands a harsher one
(under the original sentence Lynne would be out now). Lynne's cancer
has returned.

She needs to be home with her family. Her time is limited and it needs
to be spent with her loved ones. Lynne's a threat to no one -- not
today, not ten years ago. She's a 73-year-old grandmother who has
dedicated her life to being there for people who would otherwise have no
defenders. Even now in prison, she shows compassion towards those who
have had none for her. Barack Obama needs to order her immediate
release. If he fails to do so, then it should be a permanent stain on
his record.

Glen Ford: People's lawyer Lynne Stewart continues to fight for
a compassionate release from prison where she's serving a ten year
sentence for zealously defending her client. Stewart is suffering Stage
IV breast cancer but the Obama administration has turned down all of
her pleas to be released to her family and doctors. In Birmingham,
Alabama, we spoke with David Gespass, a former president of the National
Lawyers Guild. David Gespass: My initial position was she never should have
been convicted in the first place and certainly should not have gotten
the kind of draconian sentence she did. But beyond that, I think even
under the old guidelines, she was entitled to compassionate release
given the severe nature of her health and the cost to the government to
provide care that would otherwise be provided with her family at home.
Given the new guidelines -- and I think the only possible reason not to
release her would be just pure vindictiveness. Glen Ford: Lynne Stewart suffering Stage IV breast cancer is certainly no danger to anybody's community.David Gespass: And she was never much of a danger to begin with
other than the fact that she was a really vigorous advocate for the
clients that she represented. At this point, she can't practice law
because of the conviction. There is nothing that could cause any harm
by her release and an enormous amount of harm could be caused by her
staying in prison.Glen Ford: Lynne Stewart is in prison because she was a zealous defender of her client. David Gespass: That's exactly right.Glen Ford: Isn't that the lawyer's job?David Gespass: Absolutely. And I think her prosecution was a
warning to defense lawyers that they should not do their jobs as
vigorously as they are required Constitutionally to do -- particularly
in cases involving allegations of so-called 'terrorism.' Glen Ford: So zealotry in defense of, oh, a Wall Street firm is quite alright?David Gespass: That's exactly right. And defense of police
officers. It seems that the only pro criminal defense rulings that we
get from judges these days are for members of Congress and police
officers. Glen Ford: Have you seen a chill among the ranks of progressive leaning attorneys?David Gespass: On the contrary. I think that for most people
who have seen this -- it's sort of redoubled their efforts not to be
intimidated. And I think that as much as that was what the government's
aim was, I just don't think they succeeded. And I think that the
outpouring of support for Lynne during her trial and since then really
indicates that people who are advocates for the poor and the
disenfranchised are not going to be intimidated and are going to
continue the struggle. And I think that's particularly evident in the
Guantanamo cases and the work that defense lawyers have done there. Glen Ford: Lynne Stewart's case is as political as you get and
I guess the decision not to allow her compassionate release was
determined at the highest political levels.David Gespass: Undoubtedly. You know, if this were a routine
case, I think that, under the circumstances, compassionate release would
have been almost automatic. Of course, this administration has been
particularly unwilling to show any compassion to anyone convicted of a
crime. So it's on some level not shocking that they're not going to
stick their necks out for Lynne because they won't do it for people
getting fifty years for selling an ounce of marijuana or something.Glen Ford: Yes, in terms of administrations, how does this one rank on the compassionate scale?David Gespass: I'd say at the bottom. This administration has
yet to pardon a single convict. And I think that's probably a first.
Given particularly now when people are talking about how draconian and
counter-productive these mandatory minimum sentences are for drug
offenses especially, the fact that this administration refuses to even
consider releasing people who have been low level involvement in drug
transactions that have gotten these absurdly long sentences, it's just
indicative of either just meanness or political cowardice. Glen Ford: So in terms of law and order administrations, this
Obama administration could be categorized as the most law and order in
our memory?David Gespass: Yes if one wants to consider law and order as
locking more people up for longer periods of time, I suppose. And
they've also deported more undocumented immigrants than anyone in
history. And the attacks on the administration for not doing enough are
just so frivolous under the circumstances. They've been terrible about
it.

The National Lawyers Guild, and several
legal and social justice organizations, today called on Attorney
General Eric Holder to direct the Bureau of Prisons to grant
compassionate release to Lynne Stewart, whose medical condition
continues to deteriorate. Citing reforms to the Bureau of Prison’s
(BOP) compassionate release program, which Holder announced to the
American Bar Association in San Francisco in August 2013, the letter
urges that the process of consideration be expedited, given that
compassionate release was previously approved by the warden at the
Federal Medical Center at Carswell, where Ms. Stewart is serving her
ten-year sentence, and given that her condition clearly falls within
the newly-announced standards for compassionate release.
During an August 8 hearing, Judge John Koeltl agreed that Ms. Stewart’s
medical condition had seriously deteriorated. The U.S. Attorney did
not refute this assessment. Judge Koeltl noted additionally: “The
petitioner has appropriately submitted a renewed petition for
compassionate release to the BOP, and the court is prepared to give
prompt and sympathetic consideration to any motion by the BOP that
seeks compassionate release.”
Groups joining the Guild are the ANSWER Coalition, Brandworkers, New
York, NY, Center for Constitutional Rights, Chicago Committee to Defend
the Bill of Rights, Communities United Against Police Brutality,
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN, Defending Dissent Foundation, Freedom
Socialist Party, Human Rights Defense Center, Lake Worth, FL, Human
Rights Research Fund, Law Office of Lee Phillips, Flagstaff, AZ, Law
Office of Toby Hollander, Portland, ME, Marin Interfaith Task Force on
the Americas, Larkspur, CA, National Coalition to Protect Civil
Freedoms, NJ State Industrial Union Council, Oklahoma Center for
Conscience, Oklahoma City, OK, Partnership for Civil Justice Fund,
Anti-Racist Action L.A., Jericho Amnesty Movement, Los Angeles Chapter,
Radical Women and Urban Justice Center.
To read the full letter to Attorney General Holder, click here.

This week, Ralph Poynter, Lynne's husband, has created a new petition
calling for Lynne to be granted a passionate release -- you can view it
(and sign it) here.

Moving over to Iraq, Ammar al-Ani (Alsumaria) reports
that Gorran is accusing the PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) and the
KDP (Kurdistan Democratic Party) of attempting to rig the election
results. Saturday the KRG held provincial elections. Exit polling places the
Kurdistan Democratic Party (led by KRG President Massoud Barzani) in the
lead. The surprise from the polling is that the other dominant
political party, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, is no longer
dominant. Second place, according to the exit polling, has gone to
Gorran (Change). World Bulletin notes,
"The official results are yet to be announced, but there are already
talks of various government scenarios. KDP has stated that they would
like to form the new government with their strategic ally, PUK. However,
there are rumors of a possible split-up within PUK who lost most of its
power in the absence of Jalal Talabani. If Barham Salih, deputy
secretary general of PUK, happens to leave
and form a new party, KDP may have to turn to Goran to form a
coalition." How hard would that be if Gorran can't stop its war of
words? Now's a good time to remember a Tweet from earlier this week:

All Iraq News quotes
the Independent High Electoral Commission spokesperson Safaa al-Mousawi
declaring today, "The elections were
successfully held. The UN team and the international
observers praised the procedures of the IHEC and the accuracy in dealing
with the elections." The elections are seen as fair. That means
winners need to act with confidence and stop whining. Gorran is now one
of the two dominant political parties in the Kurdistan Regional
Government but it's acting like it's still an emerging party. You want
to be a leader? Start acting like one and stop sniping on Twitter. Al Mada notes the KDP and the PUK are calling for people to remain calm. Let's note some Twitter remarks on the election today:

If the results are released today, maybe the world press can finally pay
attention to the fact that elections took place in the KRG on
Saturday. With the exception of AFP, the world press seems as ignorant
of the elections as does the US government.

Though the US State Dept has failed to note the KRG elections or the violence, they did remember Iraq today and issue the following:

Media Note

Office of the Spokesperson

Washington, DC

September 25, 2013

Begin Text:The Governments of the United States of America and the Republic of
Iraq reaffirmed their strategic partnership during a meeting of the
Services, Technology, Environment and Transportation (STET) Joint
Coordination Committee (JCC) under the Strategic Framework Agreement
(SFA) on September 25, 2013 in Washington, D.C.Iraqi Deputy Minister of Transportation Bangen Rekani and U.S.
Department of Transportation Assistant Secretary for Aviation and
International Affairs Susan Kurland co-chaired the meeting. The Iraqi
delegation to the meeting included eight representatives from the
Ministry of Transportation. The U.S. delegation included representatives
from the Departments of State, Transportation – including the Federal
Aviation Administration – Commerce, the U.S. Coast Guard and the
Transportation Security Administration. This is the first JCC for this
sector of the SFA.The delegations noted the progress made in the transportation sector
in Iraq since 2003 and emphasized the importance of continued close
cooperation on all modes of transportation. They reviewed U.S.
assistance related to the development of Iraq’s aviation, rail and
maritime sectors, and explored opportunities for U.S. companies to
invest in Iraq’s transportation infrastructure. Participants identified
ways to expand cooperation and advance the Government of Iraq’s efforts
to strengthen safety, security and economic freedom at Iraq’s seaports
and airports.The United States reaffirmed its commitment to continue to provide
advice to the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority as it prepares for an audit
to be conducted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
in 2014. The U.S. pledged to support Iraq as it develops capabilities
to conduct adequate communication and navigation surveillance; augment
security at seaports and airports; further develop and modernize its
aviation infrastructure; and improve its ability to conduct
investigations of significant accidents in all modes of
transportation-aviation, railroad, highway, and marine.On the margins of the JCC, the Iraqi delegation conducted site visits
of major transportation facilities, including the Port of Baltimore,
and participated in a roundtable with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to
discuss opportunities for economic cooperation. The Iraqi and U.S.
delegations noted the successful delivery last month of the first of 30
Boeing 737-800 aircraft to Iraqi Airways at Baghdad International
Airport, which will help Iraqi Airways to reconstitute its fleet and
allow it to expand its operations. They also discussed ways to
facilitate the delivery of the remaining aircraft during the period of
2013-2019.The Iraqi and U.S. delegations agreed to continue discussions of all
issues through working groups and hold the next meeting of the STET JCC
in Baghdad, at which time participants would plan to discuss ongoing
transportation issues and other issues that are the purview of this JCC,
to include science, environmental, and strategic water issues.

The first Iraqi Social Forum, which opens Thursday in Baghdad, could
be an eye-opener for Americans, who will be able to participate online.
Running from Sept. 26-28, the grassroots event is expected to involve
more than 150 organizations and more than 1,000 participants. "Iraq is
not only violence," the organizers say. "Iraq does not surrender to
violence." Their vision is to "bring back, through this event, the image
of civic peace and activism in a city that once upon a time was known
as Dar Al-Salam (City of Peace)." The forum, they say, will be "an
expression of the desire of the Iraqi people for a civil, democratic
society and State, based on respect for different cultures."
In a public statement, the organizers, from a range of Iraqi organizations including labor, women's and youth groups, point to the tragic results of the U.S. war and occupation:

Amid daily suicide bombings that have become part of the identity of their cities, Iraqis describe their lives. Ali Wajih, a young Iraqi poet, told Al-Monitor,“I’m
no longer intimidated by death. Do not worry, I'm hallucinating. I talk
about death, and laugh with my friends. Haven’t I told you that death
has become trivial?”
Some Iraqi intellectuals blame media outlets for disregarding the human
aspects of the victims of bombings and acts of violence, simply
counting them on a daily basis and following up on the government’s
reactions and stated measures. They usually represent repeated official
discourse on the additional security measures, closure of roads and new
arrests.This picture has become a daily routine in Iraq. It does not only apply
to the media outlets, which are no longer capable of following up on
all the victims or reporting their repeated stories that are filled with
sorrow and tears. It also applies to the people themselves. The way
they deal with security incidents has gradually become part of the daily routine itself.

Today, violence slammed Iraq again.
National Iraqi News Agency reports that there was an attempt to storm the Hawija Council building -- guns went off, suicide bombers, mortars. EFE offers, "Militants targeted the city hall, police station and courthouse in the town of Hawijah." The attack left at least 14 people dead and twenty-two more injured. Al Mada quotes
Iraqi army Major General Mohammed Khalaf Saeed al-Dulaimi stating
the breakdown on the dead is 3 Iraqi soldiers, 7 civilians and 4
rebels. Yaseen al-Sabaw tells Reuters, "I was at the Hawija local council building when
suddenly two blasts shook the ground. I ran out
of the building and was shocked to see human flesh and body parts spread
around the entrance." Bi Mingxin (Xinhua) notes, "The attacks occurred at noon in Hawijah, some 60 km west
of the capital city of Kirkuk, when insurgents blew up a car bomb near a
police station while two suicide car bombers struck the entrance of the
city council building and another police station, local police source
said told Xinhua on condition of anonymity." On Iraq's increasing violence, Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) offers, "The
tensions began escalating after an April incident in Hawija. That's when
Iraqi security forces raided a site used by Sunni protesters to
demonstrate against the Shiite-led government."

That is Ammar Jassam Theyabi who was assassinated today. Iraqi Spring MC published
the photo as they noted yet another attack on the peaceful protesters.
The current wave of protests passed the nine month mark last Friday.
The world press has had very little interest in the attacks Nouri's
forces have carried out. (But didn't they all freak out and offer
coverage when Saleh al-Mutlaq got the bum's rush when he attempted to
take over a protest to self-promote?)

If you're not getting just how bad the world media's coverage of the
attacks on the Iraqi protesters have been, note that EFE, AP and
countless others mention the Hawija attack all the time but 'forget' to
note that UNICEF found 8 children were killed in that massacre. They
can't even get the numbers right for the dead. Most English language
outlets will go with 40. EFE today goes with 26. What kind of nonsense
is that? And since when did UNICEF stop being a respected source for
news on the world's children?

BRussels Tribunal does a
great job getting the word out on Iraq. But today might be the day for
them to create a list. They already have the following lists:

Maybe it's time for a list of activists who have been assassinated in 'free' (post-invasion) Iraq?

In police news, NINA notes
that suspects are said to have been apprehended in Saturday's bombing
of the funeral in Sadr City and that some residents took to government
buildings with stones and bullets today demanding the suspects be handed
over to them. All Iraq News quotes a security source who states, ""Some
protesters attacked some governmental institutions including the Local
Council of Mudhafar square on the background of the bombing that took
place in Sadr city and targeted a solace. The protesters called to close the governmental institutions in Sadr city." Ahmed Hussein and Sam Mahmoud (Alsumaria) report there are three suspects being held in the Saturday bombing.

Reuters notes, "At least 65 people
were killed in a triple bombing that targeted a tent filled with
mourners in Baghdad's Shi'ite Muslim stronghold of Sadr City on
Saturday, police and medical sources said." Press TV adds, "In the deadliest of the attacks on
Saturday, 57 people died after two bombings were carried out near a
funeral tent in Shia-dominated Sadr City north of the capital Baghdad." The death toll continued to rise. AP notes, "Police said at least 72 people were killed and more than 120 were
wounded in that attack. One bomber drove up near the tents before
detonating his deadly payload, and another on foot blew himself up
nearby, police said."

The bombings were condemned by the United Nations, the UK Foreign
Ministry, the EU, and the US Embassy in Baghdad among other foreign
bodies. Saturday's bombing was followed Sunday by the targeting of a Sunni funeral in Baghdad and Monday,
in Baghdad, another Sunni funeral was targeted. Some of those who lost
loved ones in the Sadr City bombing are calling for executions. All Iraq News reports:

The number of the demonstrators demanding to execute the
perpetrators of the solace explosion in Sadr city increased in Sadr
city.The correspondent of AIN reported that ''The demonstrations
still continue and the number of protestors increased demanding to
execute the terrorist who carried out the explosion that targeted a
solace in Sadr city.''

All executions in Iraq must be halted immediately, Amnesty International urged today after 13 men were executed in Baghdad.

Today,
the organization has been able to confirm the names of nine of the men,
who were executed on 22 September following death sentences imposed
after unfair trials and based on “confessions” allegedly extracted under
torture. Four others were also executed that day, bringing the total
number of executions in Iraq so far this year to at least 73.

“The
Iraqi authorities have chosen to defy repeated calls not to execute
prisoners and to rely on tainted ‘confessions’ obtained under torture.
That a death sentence could be imposed after obviously grossly unfair
trials beggars belief,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Director of
the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.

Amnesty
International had urged the Iraqi authorities not to carry out the
executions of these nine men, and to investigate their allegations that
they were tortured to coerce them into making “confessions”. The court
trying them appears to have disregarded compelling medical evidence
supporting these complaints, and used “confessions” inadmissible as
evidence under international law - their trial fell far short of
international fair trial standards.

“We again urge the Iraqi
authorities to declare a moratorium on executions as a first step
towards abolishing the death penalty and to commute all death sentences.
They must address the flaws in the Iraqi justice system, investigate
claims of torture and other ill-treatment in custody, and, where
applicable, grant re-trials in full compliance with fair trial
standards,” said Hassiba Hadi Sahraoui.

In other police news, NINA notes
that police raided the University of Tikrit's College of Education "and
detained the professor of the science of Quran [. . .] Dr. Salah Yasser
al-Obeidi." Iraqi Spring MC adds
that over 90 young people (all under the age of 20) have been rounded
up and taken away by Nouri's forces today in Rawa (Anbar Province). It
would appear that the Iraqi protesters are being targeted not just with
bombs but also with arrests.

The political crisis has been going on for nearly three years now.
Nouri didn't get the votes to be prime minister. The White House wanted
al-Maliki to have a second term. They brokered The Erbil Agreement -- a
contract where the heads of the various political blocs in Iraq agreed
to give Nouri a second term in exchange for Nouri agreeing to their
terms. Nouri used the contract to get a second term and then trashed
it, refusing to honor the legal promises he had made in writing. That's
what's behind the ongoing political crisis.

The White House approach has been to dummy up about that contract and to
urge political blocs to focus on the next round of parliamentary
elections. Those are supposed to be held early next year.

On Friday, September 20th,
Gov. Jerry Brown of California signed a bill (SB-4) to permit
hydro-fracturing, better known as “fracking” in California, specifically in the Monterey
Shale Formation. Fracking is a method of oil and gas production that involves
blasting millions of gallons of water, mixed with sand and toxic chemicals,
under high pressure deep into the earth. Fracking breaks up rock formations to
allow oil and gas extraction. But it can also pollute local air and water and
endanger wildlife and human health.

Gubernatorial candidate,
Cindy Sheehan of the Peace and Freedom Party had this to say about the recent
legislation: Jerry Brown just signed a
bill that makes more
"fracking"
possible in California in our already vulnerable and fragile communities
and
eco-systems. This is just another way that Brown demonstrates his
allegiance to
big oil and his total disregard for the people and environment of the
state of California.
Being dependent on fossil fuels is a disease that's killing our planet
and an official responsible to his constituents would be leading his
community away from all such usage.

From an article in
the Central Valley edition of IndyBay: Senator
Fran Pavley and Governor Jerry Brown claim the legislation
"regulates" hydraulic fracturing ("fracking"), acidizing,
and other oil extraction techniques, while opponents, including over 100
environmental, consumer and community groups in the coalition Californians Against Fracking, say the bill actually
creates a clear path to expanded fracking in California.

Candidate Sheehan continues: “Special interests wrote
the bill and the current governor of California receives tens of thousands of
dollars from the oil industry for his campaign coffers. A strong environmental
plank reducing and then eliminating California’s addiction to fossil fuel is
one of the cornerstones of a Sheehan campaign and future administration. The
people should be demanding access to clean, sustainable, and renewable forms of
energy and more comprehensive and cost efficient access to public
transportation.”

“We are not in this campaign for immediate profit, we
are in it for the future of our state and the people who reside here,” Sheehan finished.

Cindy Sheehan can be reached
at:
Cindy@Cindy2014.org

For more information on Cindy
Sheehan’s EPIC (End Poverty in California; End (the use of) Petroleum in
California) Campaign, go to the website: